Courtney Arbour

I think just never giving up. The thing that makes me successful, but also probably gives me a few headaches along the way, is my strive to deliver high quality. I am always looking to make sure that the work that I execute is to a high standard, and that my delivery is mutually beneficial so that all parties involved are getting the outcome that they are invested in. I think a tricky part of being successful is not being afraid of asking for help when you need it, and recognizing that nothing is a solo quest. It takes a village, for sure.

Make the ask. Early on, I had a wonderful mentor who told me, don't ever be afraid to ask for what you want. If you don't tell somebody what it is that you want or what you need, they can't help you. I will say, it took me a long time to actually let that advice sink in and to use it. But I think the older I've gotten and the more established I've gotten in my career, I'm not afraid to tell somebody what it is I want and what I'm looking to do. People always say that dream big, and if your dreams aren't scaring you, they're not big enough. But you can't make things happen if you don't tell people what you're trying to do and accomplish, because it's okay to ask for help.

The best advice I've received from a former mentor was don't forget you deserve a seat at the table. Working a lot in sports, it was a predominantly male industry, and oftentimes I found that women didn't have a voice on the operations side. It wasn't until a strong mentor of mine said, just remember that your voice matters, and you deserve to be sitting at that table. I think that was really important to hear and gave me the confidence I needed to make sure that my input was heard and valued. It really stuck with me.

I think one of the biggest challenges right now is that there's a lot of opportunity, but across the board, we are dealing with shorter timelines and stricter budgets. Oftentimes, in the event world, we are having to pivot last minute and make changes or execute things in a turnaround time less than ideal of what you would typically want. I feel that with that comes a lot of strain on resources and the ability to adequately staff and plan ahead of time.

Relationships. I think the people that I work with and associate myself with are very important to me. When I made the decision to go freelance and become a contract employee, I really learned how much the people mattered to me and not just the job that I was doing. We spend so much of our time at work versus with the rest of the folks in our lives, and I want to be surrounded by good people. In the line of work that I do in events, it's long hours and high stress, and I like to know that the people I'm in the trenches with are good people and are gonna have my back and get the job done. One of the things I pride myself on is building strong relationships. In the role that I'm in currently, I have had the privilege to be able to bring back together a lot of people from previous roles that I've been in to work together on this project, and it's really been a true testament to the amazing people that I've worked with along the way, and giving them an opportunity to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event and to really showcase what their talents are.